Brent Bollinger found guilty on all three counts

Brent Bollinger, 26, was found guilty of murder, arson and endangerment of a child Wednesday in the Bourbon County District Court.

Two weeks after responding to a call to serve, and eight hours after beginning deliberations, jurors handed down their verdict shortly after 11 a.m.

Bollinger was found guilty of murder in the first degree, aggravated arson, and aggravated endangerment of a child. Jurors found that on Oct. 13, 2011, he killed his wife, Brenna Bollinger, by setting fire to their home. Their then 2-year-old son, Bryson, was in the home at the time and received severe burn injuries.

Brent Bollinger also was injured in the fire. He was treated at the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. Bryson was transported to the Shriners Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, for treatments.

Brent Bollinger stood straight as Judge Mark Ward read the verdicts, then remanded Brent Bollinger in the custody of the Bourbon County sheriff. He was led out in handcuffs.

Before before asking jurors for the verdicts, Judge Ward admonished the audience to not make any outbursts, warning that he would remove those who cause a disturbance.

Family and friends observing the proceedings could be heard sniffling.

Sentencing has been set for 9 a.m. Nov. 22 by Ward. Brent Bollinger is facing a life sentence with possibility of parole after 20 years for the murder charge. The judge also will determine sentences for the arson and child endangerment verdicts. Those sentences may run concurrently or consecutively.

"We're disappointed," Brent Bollinger's attorney, Paul Morrison said, Wednesday following the verdict. "For the most part, things went for us about as well as could be expected."

He said there will be a couple of issues on appeal.

"We'll see what the Kansas Supreme Court does about it," Morrison said. "But I think the case was well tried. That's what the jury system is for. You put your sign on, give it your best shot, and the chips fall where they may."

"I think he got a fair trial," Morrison said continuing.

He was complimentary of the jury.

"That was a thoughtful jury," Morrison said. "They were very attentive and I know they worked hard. I have no criticism of anybody. He (Brent) got his right to trial, and he had a good defense and it is what it is. We were disappointed in the verdict, obviously, but in our system, that's how it works."

Although filing an appeal in a murder case is common, Morrison said the decision on whether to appeal has not been made yet. Judge Ward set a post-trial hearing for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 18, when he will hear motions.

Morrison said it is common in a murder trial for a review to take place to determine if there were any errors.

Filing an appeal is "highly likely," Morrison said.

It takes about 18 months for an appeal to go through after it is filed, he said.

That means more waiting time for the families.

"These kind of cases, there's so much tragedy for so many families. It's always very sad," Morrison said.

Jury selection began Sept. 4 at the Danny and Willa Ellis Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus. The following day, the pool of almost 200 potential jurors was whittled down to 12 and two alternates. There were five men and seven women serving.

During the eight-day trial, jurors heard testimony from 60 witnesses that included Brent and Brenna Bollinger's friends and family. They also heard from local fire, law and emergency medical responders and investigators with the Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas State Fire Marshal's Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

During the course of the trial, jurors heard that Brent and Brenna had a troubled marriage. After reconciling about a year prior to the fire, Brenna was ready to end the marriage. She had contacted an attorney. According to one witness, she also had put a deposit down on a duplex.

According to testimony, she also was having an affair with Jason Harris and also had a sexual encounter with Derek Cagle, according to those men's testimony.

Harris had borrowed a friend's cell phone to text Brenna. On Oct. 13, 2011, the friend called Brent, who was in Paola with a friend, to tell him about the text messages. Brent left Paola and went to the home of Zack Marsh where the friend showed him the texts. After about a half an hour, Brent said he was going to go find Harris at Holmtown Pub and beat him up, but he never went to the pub.

Instead, he drove to his home at 2166 Grand Road. Harris was talking to Brenna when Brent arrived. Harris testified he heard a loud noise that sounded like a door had been kicked open and Brent said, "What the f--- you doing, b----." Brenna screamed and the phone went dead.

Brent Bollinger called 911 at 9:51 p.m., but responders were given the wrong house address. Brent's father, Dale Bollinger, was on duty as a fire fighter when the page was sent out. He and Lt. Clint Roberts were the first to enter the house. Roberts found Brenna's body in Bryson's bedroom. When Dale Bollinger and Roberts arrived, Brent was outside and had already taken Bryson to Mary Bollinger's house next door. She is Brent's grandmother.

According to testimony, Brent was placed in an ambulance and transported to Mercy Hospital Fort Scott. Instead of waiting for a relief firefighter to arrive with a department pickup, Dale Bollinger drove Brent's pickup to the hospital. The truck had been identified as evidence by two troopers from the Kansas Highway Patrol, who saw an open beer can inside, but they had not placed any caution or evidence tape on it yet. Dale Bollinger testified that he tossed the beer can out on the way to the hospital.

Investigators determined the fire was set by gasoline being poured in the bedroom. Autopsy results showed that Brenna had been choked prior to the fire, but died in the fire.

Brent Bollinger told emergency responders he had been cutting firewood, spilled gasoline on himself, then caught his shirt on fire when he lit a cigarette in the house. According to testimony, he also told a paramedic the fire was his fault, he killed his wife and couldn't get her out.

Taking the stand in his defense, Brent Bollinger told jurors he doesn't remember a lot about that night. He said he remembered being splashed by something. The next thing he said he remembered is waking up next to Brenna and seeing Bryson screaming on the bed. He told jurors he broke the bedroom window and lowered Bryson to the ground. Then he said he climbed out and took Bryson to Mary Bollinger. He said when he returned to the burning house, the heat and flames made it impossible for him to get Brenna out.

Two pieces of evidence were never located -- the container used to carry the gasoline into the house and Brenna and Brent's cell phones. Phone records show that Brenna's phone was still operating two days after the fire.

Prosecuting attorneys referred questions for comments to the AG's office, which did not return a phone call Wednesday.